TeilnahmevsTeilnahmenWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“Teilnahme” and “Teilnahmen” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,413
“Teilnahme” frequency rank
#19,731
“Teilnahmen” frequency rank
22144
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Teilnahme Teilnahmen
Definition das Beteiligtsein, die Betätigung an etwas, das Mitmachen Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Teilnahme

Where the eye mixes Teilnahme and Teilnahmen

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.

9 ch
Teilnahme
10 ch
Teilnahmen

Visual trap between Teilnahme and Teilnahmen

A purely visual mix-up. Teilnahme ([ˈtaɪ̯lˌnaːmə]) and Teilnahmen ([ˈtaɪ̯lˌnaːmən]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “Teilnahme” sits inside “Teilnahmen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22144, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Teilnahme is recorded at frequency rank #2,413, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯lˌnaːmə]. Teilnahmen is at rank #19,731, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈtaɪ̯lˌnaːmən].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 22144, this pair ranks #1,877,774 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Teilnahme vs Teilnahmen

Shared letters: aehilmnt. Private to "Teilnahme": -. Private to "Teilnahmen": -.

"Teilnahme" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCCV  ·  "Teilnahmen" · 10 letters · shape CVVCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Teilnahmeetilnahme · teilanhme · teillnahme · teilnahem · teilnahhme · teilnahmme · teilnamhe · teilnhame
  • Teilnahmenetilnahmen · teilanhmen · teillnahmen · teilnahemn · teilnahhmen · teilnahmenn · teilnahmmen · teilnahmne

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Teilnahme" and "Teilnahmen" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈtaɪ̯lˌnaːmə] versus [ˈtaɪ̯lˌnaːmən]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Teilnahme" or "Teilnahmen"?
"Teilnahme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,413 in our German list, against #19,731 for "Teilnahmen". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "Teilnahme" and "Teilnahmen" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Teilnahme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Teilnahmen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,877,774 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Teilnahme" and "Teilnahmen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "teilnahm vs Teilnahmen". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #1,877,774 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list